Marvel: Again
by Cortana Hansen
Summary: Lara Reed is "killed" in a car accident and is sent to Anulus Mortis , where those with special abilities that die are forced to combat in an arena. Those who "die" must fight again later. Those who succeed earn their life. Lara and the Norse god Loki must team up and work together if they want to survive. If they can avoid killing each other first.- Under hiatus
1. Prologue

**Okay, so I wasn't satisfied with the original prologue of** ** _My Yellow Light,_** **so I'm rewriting it to be better. I'll leave the original up for comparison purposes, but anyway, hopefully you all like this version.**

 **I also changed the title, naming it after the song "Again" by** ** _Flyleaf_** **(who are awesome, by the way). My reasons for this?... I dunno. 'Cuz I like _Flyleaf?_**

 **Anyway, constructive criticism, not FLAMES, are appreciated.**

. . .

 **Prologue**

 _In a stuffy old garage..._

Lara Reed. That's my name. Expert gamer (or I pride myself as being one, to tell the truth) and crazy music addict. Speaking of gaming, at the moment, I'm playing the multiplayer for a Ratchet and Clank game against a friend online and I'm getting my butt thoroughly handed to me.

The second Ratchet stops running so he can bash open a health crate is the second he gets obliterated by a Spitting Hydra. And I'm thoroughly annoyed. I turn on the microphone on my headphones and say, "Had enough blowing me away yet, _Inspector Clouseau?"_

 _"Oooh, I'm scared. Are you gonna try and murder me with a giant death ray, Monsieur Dreyfus?"_

"Ha ha, very funny, George," I say, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl sitting on the floor next to me. After gulping down a mouthful, I continue, "Maybe you should go into acting instead of geology."

 _"Maybe if they let me play a geologist."_

"Okay, _that_ was awful, even for you."

 _"Lara, I think you should be more worried about the fact that it's almost nine a.m. and you're not even on your way to work yet,"_ George says.

"Crap! Why didn't you say anything until now?! I've gotta go, bye!" I rip off my headphones and race to my car. Leave it to George to make me late for work.

When I arrive at the department store, it's total chaos. I hate holidays. On those days, the stores are crowded with people to the point where it's like being a tiny sardine in a can. Excuse me for the unoriginal metaphor. It's a wonder that I haven't suffocated by the end of the day. And of course, it's clean-up time then.

"Whew-wee!" I jerk my head in the direction the sound came from and see John putting the last of the chairs in a stack that some toddler knocked over a few hours ago.

"Aye, what a day," John says, wiping sweat off his brow with his hand. "And I thought newborn babies were awful."

I chuckle as I pull the store keys from my pocket and walk to the exit. "C'mon, let's lock up for tonight and get a good night's sleep."

After locking up the store for the night and saying our goodbyes, I find myself driving home in the darkness of midnight. The only source of light comes from my headlights. I hadn't realised how tired I am until I started driving. But I'll be fine. I've driven at night before.

I yawn as I take a turn on Main Street, and my eyes start to close. I slap my face to keep myself awake. But I start nodding off again, and next thing I know, I'm plowing into the ditch. My head slams the steering wheel, hard, and I black out immediately.

After a long period of darkness, my mind conjures up a memory. A very bad memory. The day my parents _abandoned_ me. Nineteen years ago. I was five then. I had shown my parents something a few days before. My power. Apparently I was born a mutant, like the X-Men.

My ability is like Magneto's. I can move anything, _anything_ metal to my will.

I showed my parents this. A few days later, we went the local state park for a hike along the lake. After the hike, I told my parents that I had to use the bathroom. They said they'd wait for me outside the restroom. Except when I came out, they were gone. So was the car. I fell to my knees on the pavement, pounding the ground with my fist over and over until it was covered in blood, screaming and crying and sobbing my heart out. They left me. Because I was different, because I was a mutant.

Never again did I use my powers. I never showed them to the many foster parents I had until I turned eighteen, never showed them to anyone. Never. Never. Never.

After many more memories float about my brain's subconscious, I finally wake up. I'm lying on my side, in a damp, cold cave. I lift my head to look around and see the exit a few feet away. Remembering my head hitting the steering wheel, I raise my hand to feel my forehead. No gash, no blood, not even a bruise. The only pain I feel is a slight headache.

But how'd I end up in a cave? I stand up, brushing some of the dirt off my body, and I realise I'm no longer wearing my store uniform, but rather my casual clothes. This is getting strange...

I walk to the exit of the cave, albeit wobbly. And I see two men in armour, battling it out. One of them I immediately recognise, since his outfit's pretty hard to miss. Loki. The other man, the one he's fighting, I don't know. And I don't care.

The second I see them, I bolt away into the rolling woods. I think I hear a sword or something hit its mark, but I'm more concerned for my own safety. _Isn't Loki supposed to be dead?_ I think. _Didn't Thanos kill him, just as he killed so many others without mercy?_ But the sound of something sharp colliding with wood a few feet away wipes the confusion from my mind.

I jerk my head and see Loki tearing his sceptre from a tree, and then continuing his pursuit. _Stay out of range of his powers. Stay out of range..._ I trip over a tree root and land in some leaves. Just as I scramble to get up, I'm flung into the side of a tree. I let out a yelp of pain, as Loki telekinetically holds me in the air, my back pressed firmly against the tree.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Loki asks, tilting his head and smirking slightly. "A Midgardian. Now how did _you_ end up here in Anulus Mortis? Hm? Did you come here by some interdimensional means, perhaps to save some _special_ lost lover? Or are you somehow... _special?"_

"You should be dead," I say. I try not to show my fear, and I look him in the eye as I speak. "Thanos killed you. It was all over the news."

Loki's smirk grows larger. "I'm sure it was. But I did not truly die, as they all may have thought. And believe me when I say, though I've died a hundred, a _thousand_ times in this arena already... this time, _this_ time... I'm finally getting out of here." He balances his sceptre so it's aimed at my chest. "And you, mortal, are not going to stand in my way."

And then we hear it. A rushing, smashing sound through the woods nearby. Loki and I look in the direction of the sound and then we look at each other. It takes a few seconds for it to register for the both of us that we should run. And by that time, it's too late. The immense wave of salt water crashes into us.

. . .

 **And that's that, folks. :) So, now for the cast (yes, I'm really doing this, for reasons of _my own_ ):**

 ** _Marie Avgeropoulos_ as: _Lara Reed_**

 ** _Tom Hiddleston_ as: _Loki_**

 ** _Ben Stiller_ as: _(?)_**

 **Tom Selleck as: _(?)_**


	2. I: It Would Have Been Comical

**Okay, so I didn't really like this chapter, so I rewrote a good-sized portion of it and I like it a lot more now. Onto reviews! :)**

 **warlocktoungue: So just to get this straight...**

 **Is this a shipping fic or just a friendship fic?**

 **Good prologue BTW**

 _ **Reply: I dunno, still deciding. For now, it'll just be a friendship fic. Though it'll be a little while before they even become friends. Maybe I'll set**_ _ **up a poll after a few chapters to decide between friendship or romance. Or I'll just go with my gut. We'll just have to see what happens. But if you have any thoughts on the matter, feel free to mention them. :) I'd appreciate it, actually.**_

 _ **Thanks, by the way. I'm glad you enjoyed the prologue. Also, I changed the name of this realm to "Anulus Mortis" because the original name was... well, it would have created a major loophole.**_

 _ **Anyway, hope you and all you other readers out there enjoy this chapter. :)**_

. . .

 **Chapter One: It Would Have Been Comical**

This place is pretty much a supernatural version of the Hunger Games, if Loki was telling the truth. About this place being an arena. But he could have been lying. He _is_ the "God of Mischief," after all. I think.

This would have been comical if it weren't for the fact that I'm a contender in this arena. And now here I am, being swept away by a huge flood of salt water, getting close to drowning a few times, but saving myself in the nick of time.

The water, after what seems like hours, drains into the ground, leaving me sprawled in the mud clinging desperately to life. I gasp for air, vomiting up water along with my dinner. _Peanut butter and jelly, coming up,_ I think as the slick, chunky bits of food and liquid fly out of my mouth. Disgusting. After a few minutes of recovery, I stand up. Or try to. My legs give way beneath me, and I collapse back into the mud. And land partially in the puddle of vomit. Dark clouds swim across my vision, and I nearly black out. But I don't. I won't. I won't let myself go back into that realm of darkness, of vulnerability. Not with where I am now.

I force myself to get back up, and after several more attempts, I succeed. I stumble through the woods, looking desperately for shelter. After a couple of yards, I trip over a tree root and fall. Great, now I have to-

Suddenly a foot hits me in the side, sending me flying into a tree. Again. This time I fall back to the ground. I look up and see that my attacker isn't Loki this time, but some guy in a samurai-like armour wielding a sword. I scramble to my feet, wobbling a bit, as I dodge the blade. The sword lodges itself in the tree behind me, and I immediately bolt away. I'm certainly getting my cardio in today, that's for sure.

I hear my attacker yank his sword out of the tree and then his swift footsteps of pursuit. I'm a good runner, so I should be able to keep a good distance between us. I spoke too soon. Out from behind the thick trees materialises Loki. I skid to a halt in front of him. I look back at my pursuer, who lifts his sword and throws it at us.

"Get down!" I jump forward and shove Loki down on the ground. I land on my front at the same time, the samurai sword barely missing my head. It hits another tree with a loud _thunk_ a few yards off. I hear the samurai approaching. I stand up, getting into a battle stance. I've dabbled a bit in krav maga but I doubt it'll be enough to take on a fully grown man with armour.

Suddenly the samurai falls to the ground, a sceptre embedded in his chest. I look at Loki, who is standing now. He walks calmly over to the twitching, gasping body of the samurai, and yanks the sceptre out.

I back away slowly to the tree that the samurai sword hit, and I pull it out, to defend myself if necessary. I see Loki turn to glare at me. We stand there for several minutes, silently looking at each other, waiting for the other to say or do something. Loki is the first to speak. "You saved me. Why?"

Not what I was expecting. I was expecting him to try and kill me again. But then again, I guess his confusion is understandable. I shrug as I reply, "I dunno. I wasn't really thinking. That tends to happen when one's life is in danger."

Loki raises an eyebrow at that. "Oh? So if you could do it again in slow motion, you would have let me die?"

"I don't know!" I snap. "Maybe, maybe not. What does it matter to you anyway? I'd have thought you'd have gotten out of here by now. After all, you _are_ supposed to be a god, aren't you?"

"Enough!" Loki shoots back with a growl. "Since you, for some reason I cannot fathom, saved my life, I promise to make your death as quick and as painless as possible."

"I'm not dying," I reply, raising my sword and posing in a rather lame battle stance. "Not today. Not ever." Loki laughs at this, and I stare with confusion. "What?"

"If you're here in this realm," Loki says, still laughing at me, "then you've already died. As is the fate of all you mortals."

"That's funny," I shoot back, "coming from someone who I guess is also technically dead."

Loki stops laughing and glares at me. "I would watch what you say, if I were you..."

I immediately bolt, sword still in my hand, away from Loki. I jump over the tree roots and fallen logs, not slowing, not stopping for anything. All my energy must be put to keep me out of range of Loki's powers.

Like I said, I'm a good runner. But it won't be long before I exhaust myself, before Loki's sceptre is at my throat, before I die a second time. As if to add to my misfortune, I have to skid to a stop because of the cliff ahead. And it doesn't look like there's even a river at the bottom. If I jump, or if I'm pushed, or something, I'll die like a fly splattering on a car windshield.

I hear footsteps behind me and I turn to see Loki approaching. I lift my sword defensively. "Stay back."

Loki merely smirks, and holds me in place telekinetically. "You think you can escape this? You can't." He lifts his sceptre to throw it at me.

I close my eyes, waiting for the end. But it doesn't come. After a moment, I open my eyes. I see Loki's sceptre floating in mid-air right in front of my face. It then falls to the ground uselessly.

Loki is staring in shock. Can't say I blame him. I can't understand what just happened myself. I realise that in his bewilderment that he accidentally released his telekinetic hold on me.

I don't move, though, because really, where is there to run?

Loki finally croaks out the words, "What the hell are you?"


	3. II: Alliance (Of a Sort)

**Chapter two is up. Since this chapter is just _okay_ in my personal opinion, I may rewrite it at some point. Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

. . .

 **Chapter Two: Alliance (Of a Sort)**

 _"What the hell are you?"_

Loki, just after asking that question, suddenly falls to his knees, breaking out into spasms. He glows a bright pale blue for a second, then it dissipates. His face is covered with sweat, contorted in pain.

"Are you alright?" I ask, kneeling down to his level. This guy may be the "God of Lies" and other such nonsense, but even he can't be faking that.

Loki looks at me with a glare. "Save your concern for yourself, mortal. I am perfectly fine." He tries to stand, but he collapses back down, his face pretty pale.

"I'm no doctor," I tell him, "but I can tell when someone has something wrong with them. And you, 'God of Whatever,' definitely have something wrong with you."

Loki growls. "How about you jump off that cliff and save me the trouble of killing you."

"Yeah, I don't think so," I say, standing up. "Look, I don't like seeing people suffer. Even you. But if you don't want my help, then why don't you save _me_ the trouble and jump off the cliff yourself?"

Loki lets out a low laugh, which turns into a fit of coughing. "Very funny, mortal..." He sighs and says, "Fine. It won't do _me_ any harm at this rate. I'll tell you what you need to know. But first we need to find shelter. It will be dark soon, and believe me when I say that you do _not_ want to know what lurks out here at night."

I look at the sky and nod silently. It's dusk now. I help Loki to his feet and as he leans on my shoulder for support, I grab his sceptre for him and we trudge off into the woods. After about half-an-hour, we find a small cave that'll do for the night.

As we sit in the darkness, with only Loki's sceptre to bring us light with the sun gone, he tells me everything. Or, at the very least, everything he's _willing_ to tell me.

"The Anulus Mortis is an arena," Loki says. "For those of us who-"

"Wait, you said _'Anulus Mortis?'"_ I say, my mind racing. "'Anulus Mortis' is Latin for 'Ring of Death'... I think."

Loki lets out a growl, obviously annoyed at having been interrupted. "For those of us who have died and are considered... 'unique' because of our abilities. That's why we are forced to fight. To put on a good show for the people who rule this realm. But... every time I die in this arena, I seem to become... _weaker._ My powers become weaker, my body becomes weaker... it's like I'm slowly, _truly_ dying." I digest this information for a moment as he continues, "So each time I fail, whoever is controlling this realm is slowly killing me off. I suppose because I keep failing and as a result they deem me _unworthy."_

He punctuates this last part with a growl.

I then say, "Why? Why 'put on a show?' Is this their form of entertainment? To see people kill each other again and again until they _really die_?"

Loki thinks this over. Then he simply says, "Most likely."

"Sounds like a real-life version of the Hunger Games to me," I comment.

"Say what now?"

I look at Loki. Of course he has no idea what I'm talking about. Why would he? The only times he's been on Earth, as far as I know, were to try and take it over. "Nothing. Just a fictional story. So... how many times did you _actually_ die? It can't have actually been a thousand..."

"I told you what you needed to know about the arena," Loki snarls. "Why should I tell you anything about myself? When I know next to _nothing_ about you?"

"So that way I can help you?"

"In this arena, there's no helping each other. We only fight."

"Now see," I say, "I bet that's the kind of attitude that keeps getting you killed, Mister 'God of Blah Blah.'"

"I am not the 'God of Blah Blah,'" Loki growls indignantly. "I am the 'God of Mischief.' I am the 'God of Lies.'"

"Really? Because for a _god,_ you're not doing too well."

"For a _Midgardian,_ you really do not know when to shut up."

I raise an eyebrow. "Neither do you, 'God of Awful Comebacks.'"

Loki glares at me, but that shut him up good.

"We should get some sleep," I say, taking off my sweater. "I'll cover up the sceptre with this. No sense in getting ourselves killed because we were too stupid to take precautions."

Loki lets out a low, breathy laugh at this comment. I wrap my sweater around the bright blue stone of the sceptre, blocking most of the light. Some still shines through, but not enough to cause worry.

I realise that I'll probably never get any sleep tonight, since I don't trust Loki to not impale me. So I make the suggestion that I keep watch. He initially objects, but after a heated discussion, he gets annoyed enough to relent. So I sit, staring at the mouth of the cave, straining to stay awake.

I hold my samurai sword in my hands and as the hours pass by, my mind wanders, jumping from memory to memory, from emotion to emotion. Maybe it's a good thing I'm keeping watch. I don't think that I could have fallen asleep tonight even if I wanted to.

It's well into the day when Loki wakes up. And I could swear he looks worse today than he did last night. His face is contorted in pain and is very pale. I'd feel sorry for him if I didn't know who he was.

As he slowly sits up, grimacing in his pain, I ask, "How did you sleep?" I may not like him in the slightest, but I might as well be courteous. After all, he is hurting pretty bad. But I already know the answer. He didn't get any sleep at all.

"Fine," Loki says sarcastically. "Thanks for asking."

"Uh huh." I look out of the mouth of the cave at the bright blue sky outside. "So... are we allies or foes?" I look at Loki as I speak. "We might be able to get out of here if we work together."

"And how," Loki sneers, "could you possibly help _me?_ I'm a god and you're a... something."

"I'm not looking forward to this any more than you are," I say. "But I _did_ save your life yesterday. _And_ we managed to get through the night without killing each other. We might get through this better as a team."

Loki thinks this over for a moment. "Well, I'm going to kill you either way. And you do seem to be... _somewhat_ useful."

"So it's a deal?"

"Yes. But remember this- _any_ sign of betrayal... and I'll kill you where you stand."

Yeah, we're definitely two peas in a pot...


	4. III: Torch, Fire, Ash

**Chapter three is up!** :) **Since chapters one and two have gotten my friend XophPsycho's approval (he's a friend on another site, and is an awesome writer too!) I've decided to continue where I left off for now.**

 **And sorry it took me forever to post this, but I had gone camping with my parents and went to a football game the day before yesterday (which was awesome.) But I'm back now! :)**

 **So, in addition to this story, I'm thinking about writing a Thor fanfic based (sort of) on the novel _The Giver_. And Loki's gonna be the main character (after all, he's my favourite Asgardian.) I'm also thinking about writing another AU story with Loki, and maybe a few oneshots too.**

 **Onward!**

. . .

 **Chapter Three: Torch, Fire, Ash**

"Can't you walk a little more quietly?!" Loki growls in annoyance as he leans on my shoulder. I bet if he had a choice, he'd walk by himself. But considering his condition, I don't think that's happening anytime soon.

I give him a glare. "I'm barely making any noise. And anyway, what are you so worried about, Mr. _God?_ You can protect us both, right?"

Loki rolls his eyes. "Typical mortal's so-called 'wit'... I've heard better comebacks from an Asgardian Wart Hog in labour."

"Gee, thanks for that image..."

We're silent a moment as we trudge through the woods. Then Loki asks, "What is your name?"

"My name? I didn't tell you already?" I ask.

"No."

"Well, I guess it can't hurt..." I sigh and continue, "My name is Lara. Lara Reed."

"La-ra..." Loki tried out the name. "Hm. Not a bad name, I suppose..."

"Mm," I say. "I've heard worse." It's just when I finish my sentence that we come to a clearing in the woods. In the center is tall structure, I guess a giant plaque. Naturally, we approach it to investigate.

"This was not here during any of the previous arena battles," Loki says. "I would have found it a long time ago."

As my eyes scan the symbols etched in the structure, I realise that it's Latin. I'm not overly good at Latin, but I'm able to translate some of the words. "Torch, fire, ash."

"Come again?" Loki looks at me strangely.

"The words at the bottom of the plaque," I say. "Torch, fire, ash. It's repeated again and again, like a chant."

"Well, well, it seems you Midgardians aren't so dim as your ancestors," Loki comments, smirking.

"You know, there _are_ people who don't believe in cavemen being so stupid as the rest of the planet portrays them," I shoot back. "Humans don't know everything. And neither do you _gods."_

Loki rolls his eyes and looks at the plaque. "It appears this plaque commemorates the so-called 'great deeds' of the army general Dis Pater."

I look at Loki with a frown. "Dis Pater was a Roman god, not Norse. How could you possibly know that?"

Loki glares at me again. "Because Dis Pater was an Asgardian, you simpleton. He was the general for my- ahem, _Thor's_ grandfather's army. But Pater did something, committed a crime of what I do not know, and he was banished to Midgard. But some centuries before I was born, he managed to hide himself from Heimdall. And Odin had been looking for him ever since."

"Did Odin ever find him?" I ask.

"He came close eleven years ago," Loki replies. "But no. He never did find him."

That's when my parents abandoned me. But I can't think about that now. Not right now... "Do you think that Dis Pater is responsible for bringing us here?"

"Possibly," Loki says. "It's clear he's been here at some point. As to whether he is responsible for our arrival... I don't know."

"Hm."

"Hm, what?"

"Nothing."

"Are you mocking me?" Loki snarls. "I'll have you know that you mean less than ant to me and I can kill you right here and now and feel no remorse."

"Yeah, just think how much pleasure in killing me you'll feel when you're impaled by a samurai sword," I say as we inspect the plaque further.

"How did you do it?" Loki leans against the plaque, studying the letters, while I take a look on the other side.

"How did I do what?" I examine the strange tiles on the back of the plaque. Maybe one of them is actually a button and does something of use...

"You stopped my sceptre from impaling you without even touching it," Loki says. "It's clear you are not an ordinary Midgardian."

"You're right," I say. "I'm not."

"Then what are you?"

I frown for a moment, feeling a pain in my chest. My tears threatening to spill, and my throat hurts. "A mistake," I manage to get out. "I was a mistake. _Am_ a mistake..." My sentence trails off as I examine an odd looking tile.

"Loki, come take a look at this," I say.

Loki limps over, still leaning against the plaque. "I do not take well to being bossed around by a mere mortal."

I ignore his comment and point at the tile. "This tile is slightly raised. Like it was meant to hide something." I press my hand against it and it lights up mysteriously for a moment. Then the tile vanishes, leaving behind a small lever.

I look at Loki and he looks at me. "What are you waiting for?" Loki says, a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "Let's see what it does."

I nod and look back at the lever. _Let's hope this doesn't kill us or something,_ I think as I pull the lever. There's the sound of whirring from within the plaque, then a loud _clank._ Suddenly the plaque sinks into the ground and reveals an underground passageway.

"Curiouser and curiouser," I say, echoing the words of Alice in Wonderland.

"Indeed," Loki says, leaning against my shoulder again. "It seems you really might be useful after all."

"Do you think it might be a way out of this arena?"

"I doubt it. More likely it's just another addition to the arena, a new challenge perhaps. But a way out? No, it would not be that easy. Stupid mortal..."

I'm very tempted to flip off Loki right now, but I don't do so for two reasons. One, he wouldn't know what the gesture meant. Two... seeing what's inside that passage is more alluring than giving out a petty insult.

"Whatever," I say. "Let's check it out."

. . .

 **Sorry this was kinda short, but I was so excited to post this chapter that I didn't wait to add anything else. I may rewrite this chapter at some point, but I'm not sure. Thoughts?**

 **Anyway, see ya all next time. :)**


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